Please help! How do I change my training to reach 3:10:59?

[Alexandros]

I would really love some advice as to how I can reach my Boston qualifying goal of 3:10:59. What should my running week look like? How many miles per week? How many miles per run and at what pace?

On Sunday I ran 3:29:25 in the tokyo marathon without leaving anything in the tank. It was my 3rd marathon after running Berlin last september in 3:42 and Tokyo last year in 3:56. I've improved my time in a year by nearly 27 minutes but i really want to take it to the next level.

I would be very grateful if you could have a look and critique my training to date. I plan to run a half marathon at the start of July but other than that I have no major races on the horizon.

 

[Matthew Rowley]

I think you have a few things that tell me that you have the speed to run a 3:10:59.  You ran a half in 1:26 and a 10K in under 40 minutes, so you have the speed.  You seem to get a good long run in once a week so that is good.  A few things I noticed, in the middle of the week.  Most of your runs were in the range of 5 to 8 miles.  In order to run a 7:17 mile for all 26.2 you need to build endurance.  I would say increase the number of miles in middle of the week to 8 to 10 miles. 

[April G]

Your 10K times and 1/2 marathon times are impressive--you have more than enough speed to make your BQ.  I looked at your training and it appears you are simply lacking in good 'ol mileage.  I agree with Matt, you definitely need more mileage in during the week.  While it is good you can get a long run in every week or so, running it on fresh legs on top of lower mileage days is not quite enough to teach your legs to run hard when they are tired.  When you run the long run on top of 8-10 mile days, your legs aren't so fresh, plus the extra mileage builds your endurance and aerobic system.  As a bonus, try to finish out the long runs at marathon pace or better, which really teaches you to truck through fatigue.  Be careful as you build mileage though and do it gradually, or you run the risk of ending up injured.  Slowly break your body into the pounding.  As for race day, if the first half doesn't feel pretty comfortable then you are probably starting too fast and will pay in the last 10K.  Just my two cents--I'm no professional!  Hope it helps!

[dave rockness]

Add add 5 miles per week on your base mileage until you're averaging 10 miles per day.  I've ran a 3:07 at age 40 and my best 1/2 marathon is a 1:29.  With 70/mile weeks you could easily break 3 hours.  And again, I emphasize a gradual increase in mileage to avoid injury.  A couple "2-a-days" per week could help you in this process. 

[Alexandros]

Thanks Matthew, April and Dave - you've pretty well confirmed what i thought about my lack of mileage. I just need to find the time I guess! One other question is how fast should I be running these miles? I just ran the Tokyo marathon averaging 8:00 min per mile and need to run 7:17 for the BQ time. Most of my training run's have been around 8:00 min per mile. Should I be running closer to 7:17 in my training runs?

Cheers guys,

Alex

[Matthew Rowley]

Training speed is tricky.  While you are adding mileage, I wouldn't worry about pace.  Once you have added the mileage then start worrying about pace.  Now you will not beable to run all your miles at marathon pace.  What you do is make one or two workouts a week to "Key workouts".  Do a Tempo run on wendsay and or do like April suggested and do last 10 miles of your long run at marathon pace.  You need to train your legs what it feels like to run 7:17 pace, but you will not be able to run all your mileage at that pace.  Nor should you try.  Build the base, add some key workouts and try to get to starting line uninjured.  Building the base and getting to the starting line uninjured is the most important parts.

[dave rockness]

I agree w/Matt.  Build up the base w/out worrying over speed.  Whatever feels natural.  Twice a week pick things up- one day might be more "speed/interval" type workout and the other day a gradually build up of your marathon pace goal.  If you can run your marathon pace for 14-16 miles three week out, with a proper taper, you should be good to go.  I usually try to run a half marathon 3-4 weeks and then use the mcmillan calculator to help set a goal pace for the big day.  Just google mcmillan calculator and you can find his website which also gives great advice for training paces. 

[runninrye]

I trained with a young (30) runner for a couple of years and we ran about the same pace for the marathon...3:30 to 3:40 or so. He moved and started to run trails exclusively, lots of them. He decided to run a marathon after a two year break from running marathons. The course wasn't fast by any means and he pr'd by 18 minutes. The only thing he said that he changed was the trail running. He ran 55 to 65 miles per week but they were all trails.   

[Jason Dodge]

In case this hasn't been brought up, you should know the Boston Qualifying times have changed. No more 59 second grace time and they have dropped by 5 minutes as well. 18-34 is now 3:05:00 or faster. 35-39 is 3:10:00 or faster. I bring this up because it could be very disappointing to find out that you miss the mark.  Also, I agree with much of the above. You have plenty of speed (plug your times into a race equivalence calculator), but you need so volume. Doing a lot of marathon efforts will help as well.

[Kam]

Just another voice calling out to not worry about speed until you have the base mileage in place.  If you feel punchy and want to run faster once a week or so, go ahead.  But if you try to increase speed and mileage at the same time, you are playing with fire.  Once you have a solid base mileage, add long intervals and tempo runs to your schedule once a week, not close to your long run.  1 mile at 5k pace, 2 miles at 10k pace, and tempo runs of 6-10 miles at or just below marathon pace are great workouts and confidence builders.  Good luck!